French Ski Champ Dies While Mountain Climbing in Alps

French ski mountaineering champion Adèle Milloz died at age 26 after falling while training in the Alps to be a mountain guide. 

The former professional athlete and another woman, who also died during the incident, were climbing toward the Aiguille summit in the Mont Blanc range of the French Alps when they both fell, according to People. Officials alerted to the accident believe the two women were roped together. 

A police source said the cause of death is unknown. The incident is under investigation but authorities have ruled out a rockfall as the cause. The route Milloz was on is not considered "particularly difficult," officials said. However, hiking up the Alps has become more dangerous due to recent droughts. 

"It is with great sadness that we learned on Friday of the death of Adèle Milloz, young world ski mountaineering champion and aspiring mountain guide," the French Mountain and Climbing Federation announced over the weekend.

Milloz had a decorated career as a skier. She became a junior world champion in sprint and went on to win gold in the same category at the Winter Military World Games in Sochi in 2017, according to the federation. In 2019 she retired from ski mountaineering in order to pursue a career as a professional mountain guide.

"Her smile and good humor will always be missed," the federation stated.

"Deeply saddened by the death of ski mountaineering champion Adèle Milloz in Mont-Blanc, at the age of 26, and of the woman who was by her side," French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra tweeted Sunday. "I extend my deepest condolences to her family, loved ones, her colleagues from the National School of Skiing and Mountaineering in Chamonix."

Ski mountaineering will be introduced in the 2026 winter Olympics for the first time. 

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